Out of site, not out of mind

A fake sale deed proclaimed the owner had gifted the property to Gowramma, who is unrelated to him

By Y Maheswara Reddy

An NRI couple found that their 50X80 site was sold by someone impersonating them while they were out of India

If you’re a non-resident Indian (NRI) who owns a residential site in Bengaluru, with a sale deed registered before 2004, beware. You could have your land sold off by the land mafia, impersonating you with fake photos and signatures, taking advantage of the fact that sale deeds registered before 2004 did not have photographs of buyers and sellers. This loophole was used by land mafia to sell the site belonging to an NRI couple, without their knowledge, complete with forged documents.

K Kumar and V S Yamini, a NRI couple working in the US, had purchased a residential site measuring 50x80 sq ft site on Banaswadi-Hennur Road from T Muniyellappa of Sampangiram Nagar in Bengaluru on March 13, 2002.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had allotted this site to Muniyellappa in 2001. The NRI couple bought the site from Muniyellappa for Rs 10,32,000.

The couple then fenced the land and were paying their property tax to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) without fail since the purchase. However Kumar’s father, V Kothandapani, who stays in Michaelpalya, near New Thippasandra, started getting enquiries from real estate agents whether the site was up for sale. Kothandapani alerted his son Kumar about the sudden interest from real estate agents.

Kumar arrived in Bengaluru on November 17, 2018 to check on his site and was shocked to know that his property had been sold. According to the documents available with Bangalore Mirror, the ‘fake sale deed’ said that Kumar had executed a deed of release in favour of his wife V S Yamini on July 25, 2018. It said that he again executed a deed of rectification on October 17, 2018 giving absolute right to her on the property. As per Kumar’s passport and other documents, he and his wife were in US on the both days.

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On July 25, 2018, the ‘fake sale deed’ said that V S Yamini had signed a deed of gift in favour of her mother Gowramma, residing at No. 1621/1, Vasavi Colony, Old Town Bhadravati, Shivamogga district. In reality, Yamini’s mother is Seethalakshmi and not Gowramma. Seethalakshmi also resides in the US.

‘Gowramma then sold the property to Bathish P, residing at No. 239 (1663), 2nd Cross, Gayathri School Road, Vijanapura, Dooravani Nagar, Bengaluru for a sum of Rs 2,20,00,000 on October 12, 2018.

Having reached Bengaluru and realising that his property has been sold off by someone impersonating him, Kumar is running from pillar to post seeking justice. As per records, Yamini arrived in Chennai on March 4, 2018 and left for the US on March 17 while Seethalakshmi arrived in Chennai on March 7, 2018 and left for US on March 27. Both of them did not visit Bengaluru. Kumar now wants to know how his wife could have signed the gift deed document at the Sub-Registrar’s Office in K R Puram if she was in the US on that particular date.

Kumar lodged a complaint with the Banaswadi police on November 24, 2018 against those involved in the fake sale deed but the police advised him to approach the court.

“I approached the Banaswadi police but in vain. Later, I wrote a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East requesting him to intervene. Though the Deputy Commissioner directed the Banaswadi police to take action as per the law, the latter took more than 40 days to register a First Information Report (FIR),’’ says K Kumar.

On January 3, 2019, Banaswadi police registered a FIR against the accused Gowramma, 70, Bathish, 45, K Bhasaran, 51, and Gopi under Sections of 419, 420, 467, 504, 506(B), and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860.

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